Posted on October 11, 2021
Power Mac Video Card Upgrade
Ever since I managed to get a few 90s Macs I’ve had fun exploring using them for gaming and various projects. Some of my favorites are the G4 models from the end of the 90s and early 2000s most likely because they are so much like a PC of the era. Easy both to use and to upgrade. The latter thing is something you can’t exactly say of modern Macs unfortunately.
So looking at some upgrade options I settled on putting in a Radeon 9000 Pro into my G4 AGP model which is basically a slot in with little extra work. it provides a substantial boost in gaming performance while now the CPU is proving to be the bottle neck instead. Check out the video for the actual results but now this machine is a legitimate gaming rig fit for the era!
Posted on October 8, 2021
Livestream 10/7/2021 – Super Metroid on the MiSTer
Metroid Dread is a new mainline installment in the series of Metroid games. The reason this is somewhat significant is that they haven’t advanced the story of the games since the 2003 Metroid Fusion. That is to say Metroid Dread will continue the story finally and counts as I believe the 5th proper game in the series. All the Metroid Prime games were all set after Super Metroid but before Fusion. So the hype for Dread is real!
To build on that hype on the night before release of the game I just had to play the true and original Super Metroid. Metroid on the NES of course was first but the convergence of awesome 16 bit graphics, gameplay mechanics and environmental storytelling is unmatched in the Super counterpart. Easily in my top 10 games of all time I have many memory of experiencing the game for the first time back in the day and also through numerous replays through the years. It’s a true classic that still holds up remarkably well.
We can enjoy the game easily using the ever awesome MiSTer which allows easy play plus streaming being a snap. I’ll never get tired of revisiting this game and it was really fun to chat about it and everyone’s experience playing (or not playing I’m not judging!) this amazing game. Check out the replay of the livestream.
Posted on September 20, 2021
Extra Bit Video – VCFMW Haul
As mentioned previously I went to Vintage Computer Fest Midwest or VCFMW (boy that rolls right off the tongue) on September 11/12th. This was my first time going and it was an awesome event to say the least. Tons of things to see, people to talk to and panels to attend. But I’m a retro addict at heart so I couldn’t come away empty handed. Pretty much anyone could bring whatever they wanted for sale and often people basically wanted to get rid of stuff or at least come home with less than they brought. So prices I think were ranging from fair all the way to basically free.
Self control is hard.
I made an Extra Bit video covering what I picked up while I was there and the limitation was mostly what I could bring with me on the plane. Next year I might drive so we’ll see what happens then…
Posted on September 17, 2021
Livestream 9/16/2021 – PC Gamer Demo Disc
Way back in 96 when a Swedish version of PC Gamer launched I knew that sort of magazine was right up my alley. I subscribed nearly immediately and have many issues saved up. Launched as a bespoke PC Gamer specifically for the Swedish market it borrowed from the US and UK versions for sure but it was its own thing. Padded with some translated articles most of it was done locally.
Of course one of the highlights of the magazine was that each month you got a cover CD jam packed with demos, updates and mod files. I used these demos many times to decide what game I’d spent what little cash I had on and scouring those discs for anything remotely interesting was a thing I looked forward to.
So for this livestream I thought why not recreate a bit of that feeling? So we ended up flipping through the magazine and remembering all the tacky 90s ads, looked at the upcoming games and above all poured over all the ads for games and peripherals. It’s a neat time capsule. Following that we of course dove into some of the games and while we still had some PC problems in true retro fashion it was great chatting about times long gone. Check out the replay below.
Posted on September 15, 2021
VCF Midwest 21
The Vintage Computer Fest Midwest, or VCFMW if you like jumbled acronyms, took place in Elmhurst on September 11/12th. That’s just outside Chicago proper to give you an idea.
The event celebrates basically everything vintage computing. Tons of machines are on display ranging from really old (mainframes with terminals) to late 90s Windows 98 rigs. There was so much to see and so many things to explore as many machines were available for hands on experiences and people in booths were more than open sharing their love for their particular platform.
There were also tons of vendors selling their stock and boy it was hard not buying everything there! I picked out some select deals to not come home empty handed. I’m working on a video showcasing roughly what the event was about plus then the things I picked up while there. One of the highlights for me though was meeting the one and only Clint more commonly known as LGR!
I had a chance to chat with him before the show during setup and then a couple of times during the event proper. Great guy and very open to talk about YouTube things as well as big box collecting.
All in all a great time and I made some new friends while I was there. Keep an eye out on the video on the event which should go live in the next few days.
